Fax: 803-252-3548
jmclaren@mclarenandlee.com
www.mclarenandlee.com
James T. McLaren is managing partner of McLaren & Lee, a
statewide practice primarily involved in complex marital litigation
and trial work in addition to alternative dispute resolution. He
presently serves as a past president of the American Academy
of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). He has been listed in The Best
Lawyers in America for nearly two decades and named in South
Carolina Super Lawyers since 2008. He and his firm have the
highest rating (AV), afforded lawyers for legal ability and ethics
in Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. He is a Certified Mediator
and Arbitrator by the AAML. He frequently lectures on various
family law topics.

FAMILY LAWKIRK MORGAN, JR.

WALKER MORGAN, LLC

Tel: 803-359-6194

Fax: 803-957-4584
km@walkermorgan.com
www.walkermorgan.com
Kirk Morgan of the Lexington, South Carolina law firm of Walker
Morgan, LLC has more than 33 years of trial experience. The
primary focus of his practice is burn trauma, with a special
emphasis on products liability, fire related accidents, and other
causes of action that result in catastrophic injury claims. He is
Board Certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of
Trial Advocacy and was past president of the South Carolina
Association of Justice in 2010-2011. He is also past president of
the Melvin M. Belli Society. Kirk is a sustaining member of the
American Association for Justice, past president of the Lexington
County Bar Association, and a member of the John Belton
O’Neall Inn of Court. Walker Morgan, LLC, represents clients
throughout the Southeast in both state and federal courts.

PERSONAL INJURY PRODUC TS: PLAINTIFF
INSURANCE COVERAGE

PERSONAL INJURY GENERAL: PLAIN TIFFRAYMOND P.

MULLMAN, JR.

POLIAKOFF & ASSOCIATES, PA

215 Magnolia Street
PO Box 1571

Spartanburg, SC 29304

Tel: 864-582-5472

Fax: 864-582-7280
rmullmanjr@gmail.com
www.gpoliakoff.com
Raymond P. Mullman, Jr. is a graduate of Fairfield University
and the University of South Carolina Law School. Ray began
practicing law in 1995. He is a member of the Spartanburg
County Bar Association, the South Carolina Association for
Justice, the American Association for Justice, the Palmetto Law
Society and the Environmental Law Society. He is a member of
the AAJ’s Nursing Home Litigation Group and the AAJ’s Trucking
Litigation Group. He has authored numerous successful briefs,
articles, and memoranda, and actively pursues litigation for
injured plaintiffs. Ray is also a certified arbitrator. His main areas
of practice are Nursing Home Neglect Litigation, Environmental
Law, Toxic Exposure Litigation, and Personal Injury. He is rated
AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.

PERSONAL INJURY GENERAL: PLAIN TIFF
JOHN A. O’LEARY

O’LEARY ASSOCIATES, PA

714 Calhoun Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Tel: 803-779-5556

Fax: 803-252-7515
oleary_email@yahoo.com
www.olearylawsc.com
John is a 1966 graduate of The Citadel, Charleston, SC; JD
1969 U of D, Detroit, MI, Graduate School Northwestern Law,
Chicago, IL. He is a member of State Bars of SC, FL, and MI.
Currently, John has offices in Columbia and Edisto Beach,
SC handling primarily DUI, drug cases, civil, administrative
and criminal matters. He has served as trainer in L.E. and an
expert witness in police procedures, high speed chases, use of
force, and weapons;, giving seminars in DUI and L.E. practices
throughout the US. Current Counsel for Troopers Association.
Retired Director of SCCJA, Columbia, SC and Life Member of
IACP, Member ABOTA, ABA, AAJ.

Fax: 803-276-8684
thpope@popeandhudgens.com
www.popeandhudgens.com
Tom Pope has been representing primarily plaintiffs in cases
involving negligence, products liability, insurance bad faith,
estates, breach of fiduciary duty, small business minority
oppression, class actions, and business litigation for over
40 years. He also represents lando wners in condemnation cases;
plaintiffs and defendants in professional negligence matters;
and lawyers in disciplinary matters. He is Chair of the South
Carolina Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers and
former President of the South Carolina Chapter of ABOTA. He is
a former South Carolina State Senator and is a former member
of the South Carolina Supreme Court Board of Law Examiners.
Pope has taught civil litigation in law schools in Eastern Europe
(Albania, Kosovo, Hungary, and Ukraine) since 2008.

PERSONAL INJURY GENERAL: PLAINTIFF
BUSINESS LI TIGATION

GENERAL LI TIGATIONROBERT B. RANSOM

LEVENTIS & RANSOM

PO Box 11067

Columbia, SC 29211

Tel: 803-765-2383

Fax: 803-799-1612
bertcone@aol.com
www.leventisandransom.com
Since co-founding the Leventis & Ransom law firm in 1997,
Mr. Ransom has focused his practice on personal injury litigation
with a special emphasis on medical malpractice and bicycle
crash cases. Mr. Ransom graduated summa cum laude from the
University of Michigan in 1985 and from the University of South
Carolina School of Law in 1988. Prior to opening his own firm in
Columbia, South Carolina, Mr. Ransom spent ten years working
in a defense firm in Charleston, South Carolina. He has extensive
trial court experience and has also been successful in handling
both state and federal court appeals. Mr. Ransom has achieved
multiple million-dollar results for his personal injury clients
through both settlements and trials.

PERSONAL INJURY GENERAL: PLAINTIFF
GENERAL LI TIGATION

PERSONAL INJURY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: PLAIN TIFF
JOHN S. SIMMONS

SIMMONS LAW FIRM, LLC

1711 Pickens Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Tel: 803-779-4600

Fax: 803-254-8874
jsimmons@simmonslawfirm.com
www.simmonslawfirm.com
John S. Simmons’ practice focuses on catastrophic personal
injury, wrongful death, products and pharmaceutical liability,
premises liability, medical malpractice and white collar criminal
defense. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2017 for
white-collar criminal defense and named a 2017 Best Lawyers
in America White Collar Criminal Defense Lawyer of the year.
He is a former United States Attorney for the District of South
Carolina and has extensive civil and criminal trial experience.
Mr. Simmons holds Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating
of AV and is a member of the Bar Register of Preeminent
Lawyers, Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Multi-Million Dollar
Advocates Forum and American Trial Lawyers Association’s Top
100 Trial Lawyers.

PERSONAL INJURY PRODUC TS: PLAINTIFF
CRIMINAL DEFENSE: WHITE COLLAR

PERSONAL INJURY GENERAL: PLAINTIFFRANDY A. SKINNER

SKINNER LAW FIRM, LLC

300 North Main Street
Suite 201

Greenville, SC 29601

Tel: 864-232-2007

Fax: 864-232-8496
rskinner@skinnerlawfirm.com
www.skinnerlawfirm.com
Chapter 7 U.S. Bankruptcy Panel Trustee, 2002-Present. Named
in Best Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America for Bankruptcy
and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law. Named in South Carolina Super
Lawyers Magazine for Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights.
Bankruptcy and Debtor-Creditor Law Specialization Advisory
Board for the South Carolina Supreme Court, Board Member,

Fax: 843-722-2867
mstory@clawsonandstaubes.com
www.clawsonandstaubes.com
Matt is the Managing Member of Clawson & Staubes, and
has practiced law for 27 years. He is licensed to practice in
South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. Matt has tried
over 150 cases to verdict for individuals and corporations.
He represents individuals, local businesses, state agencies
and major insurance carriers, at every level in his workers’
compensation and litigation practice. Matt also practices in the
areas of insurance coverage, homeowners, premises, products
and municipal litigation. Matt is a South Carolina Certified
Mediator, and mediates many cases each year. Having extensive
trial experience, he understands the value of reasoned discussion
and compromise, which help parties avoid unnecessary litigation
and bring resolution to conflict.